A ’60s defining moment

Producers pose a cultural question

For seasoned TV and film producersChuck Fries and Irv Wilson, the idea to collaborate on a book addressing that oft-asked question was in the works for years.

Their final product, “We’ll Never be Young Again,” is a collection of letters, narratives and anecdotes chronicling the 72 hours from JFK’s assassination to his entombment .

While the book may have been a long time coming, the decision to produce a stage adaptation, a Bruce Gary-helmed production which unspooled Nov. 19 at Beverly Hills High School, was much more spontaneous.

Fries recalled a reading at Borders Book Store, where Dick Van Patten was on hand to perform a dramatic interpretation of his contribution to the book, when a woman called out from the back row, “You should make this into a play.”